Christians of Gaza City, north of the Gaza Strip, celebrated “Palm Sunday” in the Eastern Orthodox Church of St. Porphyrios, despite the difficult conditions created by the continued Israeli aggression on the Gaza Strip for the 205th day.
Contrary to the usual celebration held on this day every year, there were no manifestations of joy and jubilation on the features of Christians celebrating in the church, due to the war that is ongoing in the northern Gaza Strip.
Christians around the world, especially Christians in Palestine, attach great importance to Palm Sunday as “the anniversary of the entry of the King of Peace (Christ) into Jerusalem.”
About 1,000 Christians live in Gaza out of a total population of about two million, about 70 percent of whom belong to the Greek Orthodox community, which owns a central church in Jerusalem, while the rest are Latin Catholic.
The Israeli occupying forces carried out numerous air and artillery raids on Christian and Muslim places of worship in the Gaza Strip.
Last October, Israeli warplanes targeted the oldest Greek Orthodox Church in Gaza City, located in the Zeitoun neighborhood, and the Church of St. Porphyrios, which was considered a haven for both Christians and Muslims during the successive wars against Gaza.
During the bombing, the church was sheltering hundreds of people, 18 of whom were killed.
In December, the media office of the Latin Patriarchate announced that an Israeli sniper had assassinated a woman and her daughter, and wounded 7 others at the Church of the Holy Family in Gaza City.
The office also stated that an Israeli artillery vehicle “targeted the Mother Teresa Sisters Convent in Gaza City, which shelters more than 54 people with disabilities; inside the walls of the church.”
